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Crisis hits Safferys.

Saffery Champness, accountancy firm to the landed gentry, has had to parachute in emergency management at the firm’s Harrogate office after two partners were forced to leave.

Keith Weston and Julia Rangecroft had resigned but were forced to go before the end of their notice after relations deteriorated.

Three other employees were asked to go as part of what managing partner, Clive Nicholson, called ‘the problem’.

He refused to elaborate on the cause of the fallout but said Stephen Collins of the firm’s Peterborough office was acting manager in Harrogate while Alison Robinson, another partner, was due to take over shortly.

A further partner will be recruited.

Nicholson said he anticipated losing some clients. ‘No client has completely gone, it’s early days.’

The crisis follows trouble in the firm’s Guernsey office, which all four partners recently left. However, they had given a year’s notice and replacements took over in March this year.

For Saffery’s results, see the Accountancy Age Top 50 at www.accountancyage.com/News/1122518.